


Le Chat Sanguinaire

by Daario



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Character Turned Into Vampire, F/M, Vampire Chat Noir, i love vampire aus so of course i would write this of course, shifted timelines and canon a lil bit for this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-22
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-05-28 07:22:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6319942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daario/pseuds/Daario
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Between finally going to a normal school with normal friends, and fighting evil as Chat Noir alongside Ladybug, Adrien Agreste is happier with his life than he can ever remember. But all this changes when his father, Gabriel Agreste, decides it is time for his son to inherit his immortal legacy, and walk the night as a vampire. How can he hope to defend Paris as a monster himself? And with blood on his hands, how can he ever show his face to Ladybug again?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Le Premier Sang

**Author's Note:**

> Note: In this world Adrien's mother is dead, and has been for some years. Just so you don't get confused.

**Le Premier Sang**

**I**

                Adrien collapsed onto his bed, exhausted. Hawkmoth had been more active lately. It felt like every day he and Ladybug were fighting some new villain. Not that he minded. It was only when Paris was being terrorised that he got to spend any time with her. He just wished he could tell her how he felt, how he really felt. As Chat, he flirted with her constantly, but she took it all as a joke – and he meant it as a joke, in a way. If it was only a joke, then it wouldn’t hurt so much if she rejected him.

                “Adrien, I’m hungry,” Plagg whined, breaking him from his sulking. “Don’t just lie around.”

                He sighed, and got up to get some camembert for Plagg. At first, he had detested the smell of the stuff, and the way it always seemed to linger long after it was eaten. Now, he hardly noticed. All part of being Chat Noir, he supposed. Once Plagg was satiated, he went over to his computer to check on Alya’s Ladyblog. She usually updated it within an hour of an incident. It made him wonder how she ever managed to get any school work done. Of course, the same could be said for him. And Ladybug, actually. Whoever she was, Adrien guessed that she was around his age. He was just a regular person who had been given these powers, and he assumed that she was the same. Imagining her trying to balance school work with her super heroine activities made him smile. He was sure she was better at it than he was. She seemed to put together. Still, as stressful as his double life was, he wouldn’t trade it for anything.

                Alya’s blog was indeed updated. There were some pretty good shots of Ladybug from the latest encounter. He was in most of them as well, but all of them were centered on her. It didn’t bother him that people were more interested in pictures of her than of him. He couldn’t blame them, and anyway, he had enough people wanting to take his picture as Adrien Agreste. He didn’t need it as Chat Noir as well.

                A knock at the door startled him. It wasn’t time for any of his scheduled activities. He was always given Sunday afternoon off for studying.

                “Adrien?” His father’s voice. “I’m coming in.” Without waiting for any confirmation from Adrien, Gabriel entered the room. It barely gave Plagg enough time to hide himself.

                “F-father!” Adrien said, somewhat shocked. If Gabriel had come half an hour earlier, he would have found Adrien missing. He made a mental note to lock his door next time – not that his father didn’t have a key. “What… Good afternoon.” It was rare for him to see his father if he wasn’t in trouble for something. Unless… He started going through a mental checklist of everything he could have possibly done wrong. His first thought was his rather extensive tardy and absent record at school. But those were hardly his fault. He should ask Hawkmoth to write him a letter excusing him next time.

                “Good afternoon, Adrien.” He said, staring past him. His gaze was fixed on the large computer monitors. The candid photos of Ladybug and Chat Noir were still up on the screens. Adrien cursed internally. He had forgotten to close them. “Ladybug…” Gabriel said. It was impossible to tell what he was feeling from his tone. “It seems the whole city is quite taken with our heroine, and my own son is no exception.”

                “Well, you know,” Adrien laughed somewhat awkwardly. Taken with was certainly one way of putting it. “She has saved our lives quite a few times. It’s reasonable to admire that.”

                “Indeed.” He continued to look at the pictures on the screen, his face a mixture of contemplation and disgust. Then again, Adrien found that his father almost always looked mildly disgusted. It made him kind of hard to read. Feeling uncomfortable, he put his computer to sleep. Gabriel turned his gaze on Adrien, his expression softening a barely noticeable amount. He said nothing.

                “Did you want to tell me something?” Adrien asked finally.

                “Yes,” Gabriel replied. “You will be joining me for dinner in my study tonight. I have something important to tell you. Come up at 18:30.”

                It took Adrien a moment to process what had been said. Have dinner with his father? He hadn’t had a meal with his father since his mother had passed away. Gabriel always ate in his study, doing research or drafting up new designs. Things like ‘family meals’ cut into his work time. As Gabriel stared at him, waiting for a response, Adrien realised he wasn’t kidding. Well, of course he wasn’t. Adrien was not entirely sure this man knew what a joke was.

                “R-right,” Adrien said. “18:30 for dinner. I’ll be there. “

                “Excellent.” Said Gabriel, and he gave a small smile before turning and leaving the room. He remembered to shut the door behind him, which was nice.

 

**II**

                According to Adrien’s phone, it was 18:29. He was early. Not like it should make that much of a difference, but just to be safe, he waited until it was 18:30 before knocking.

                “Come in.” His father said.

                Adrien opened the door hesitantly. He had never been in this room of the mansion before. It was where his father spent the vast majority of his time. It was much like the rest of the mansion, and he felt a little let down. Somehow, he had built up the inside of his father’s study into something dark and mysterious in his mind. But really, it was just a study.

                “Have a seat, Adrien.” Gabriel gestured to a seat at his desk, opposite of himself. There was a meal set out for Adrien, but none for is father. There was also an empty wine glass. Adrien hoped his father would not try to make him drink wine. He had always found the drink intolerable. He felt awkward, being the only one with food, and so did not pick up his fork. “Eat, Adrien. You must be hungry. You have had a busy day.”

                He nodded slowly, and took a few bites. Too late, he realised that, as far as his father was concerned, he had not had a busy day. He had had a relatively lazy Sunday, playing video games and doing homework in his room. Chat Noir had had a busy day, true, but that shouldn’t matter. The glint in his father’s eyes told him he had noticed, but he said nothing. Adrien ate in silence, painfully aware of the sounds of his own chewing and swallowing. He was thirsty, but there was no water, and he didn’t want to ask, for fear that his father would bring out the wine, and then he would be forced to pretend to enjoy it.

                “Are you enjoying your classes at the school, Adrien?” His father asked, just as Adrien took another bite of food. He nodded, mouth too full to try to swallow and answer properly. “That’s good. I know how badly you wanted this experience. I’m glad you were able to have it.” Adrien did not know how to reply to this, so he simply nodded again. “Unfortunately, you are going to have to take a break from going to classes there for the next little while.”

                “What? Why?” Adrien asked, his fork halfway to his mouth. He thought back to his relatively poor attendance. “Listen, I know I have been missing classes sometimes, and I know I keep showing up late, but-“ His father raised his hand, and Adrien stopped talking.

                “Adrien, this is not a punishment.” He said. “I’m sure you have a perfectly good reason for missing the classes you were so desperate to be allowed to go to.” Adrien opened his mouth to defend himself, but his father silenced him with a look. “You will be taking the time off of school to do something very important for me. For our family.”

                “More modelling?” He asked, unable to think of anything else it could be. But he could model after class, and on weekends. There was no need to miss school for it.

                Gabriel observed him silently for a moment, then spoke. “Years ago, when your mother fell ill, I dropped everything to search for a cure, for something to save her from the death which the doctors assured us was inevitable. Do you remember?” Adrien nodded. Of course he remembered. “Well, I found one. But your mother, stubborn as she was, refused it. Said it came at too high a cost.” Adrien said nothing. What was his father even talking about? What cure? “My mistake was giving her the choice in the first place. I won’t make the same mistake with you.”

                “What do you mean?” Adrien asked slowly. Something was very wrong here. “What cure are you talking about? There was nothing, the doctors told us.”

                “I am not talking about some medicine or treatment, Adrien. I am talking about immortality.” Gabriel said. He expression was the same as it always was, but there was a fire in his eyes that scared Adrien. “Never growing old. Never falling ill. I could have saved your mother, if she had only let me.”

                “There’s no such thing.” Adrien said. He wondered if he could just leave, but something kept him in his seat.

                “No such thing?” His father gave a small smile. “We live in a city where villains with magic powers terrorize the streets nearly everyday, and are defeated by super-powered teenagers in foolish costumes. And yet, you want to immediately say that there can be no such thing as immortality?”

                “That’s different.” Adrien replied. He resisted the urge to defend the costumes. He thought they were quite dashing, especially Ladybug’s.

                “Is it?”

                Adrien didn’t respond. He wanted to leave. His father was scaring him, and he didn’t want to be near him any longer. What he wanted to do was turn into Chat Noir and escape. But that was out of the question, of course.

                Gabriel stood up, and slowly walked around the desk. Adrien also stood, and moved to get away from him, but his father grabbed his arm and pulled him back. “Stay,” He said. “I’m going to give a gift most would do anything for.”

                “I don’t want it.” Adrien said immediately. Whatever it was his father was talking about, he wanted no part in it.

                “I told you, Adrien,” Gabriel said, bending down so he was murmuring directly into his son’s ear. “I won’t make the same mistake twice. You have no choice. You will thank me, soon enough.” Before Adrien could reply, his father pinned his arms to his side and sunk his teeth into the base of his neck, just above his left shoulder.

                Due to the shock of being bitten by his own father, it took Adrien a few seconds to register how much it hurt. You wouldn’t think that a normal person’s teeth would feel so sharp and hurt so much. He tried to pull away, but Gabriel’s grip was like steel.

                “What are you… Stop!” He cried out. Or tried to, anyway. His voice came out as barely more than a whisper. Gabriel didn’t react, and Adrien couldn’t be sure that his father had even heard him. His head was spinning. Did his father think he was some sort of vampire? That lined up with the stuff he had been spouting, but was also totally impossible. Unless… Had he been akumatized? But he had acted like himself, and none of Hawkmoth’s akumatized villains had been particularly subtle in the past. He felt himself getting light headed. It was hard to judge how much time had passed. Was his father actually drinking his blood? As horrifying as the situation was objectively, it was also the most ridiculous thing ever. He almost wanted to laugh.  

                He didn’t realise he had been released until he hit the floor. His father must have finished and dropped him. He tried to get up, but found he barely had the energy to move his head. Belatedly, he realised he should have transformed. Chat Noir could probably have overpowered Gabriel. It was too late now, though. He couldn’t speak. Plagg was no doubt hiding in his shirt like always, unable to help.

                Gabriel was standing with his back to him, doing something at the desk. When he finally turned around, he was holding the previously empty wine glass. It was full now, with a deep red liquid. At first Adrien thought it was the wine he had been dreading, but as his father drew closer he realised it was far too thick. His father also had a bandage wrapped around his left wrist that had not been there before. Adrien’s stomach turned. There was no way…

                “Drink this, Adrien.” His father got on one knee, and lifted Adrien’s head so that it was level with the glass. He tried to turn his head away, but if he hadn’t been able to escape his fathers grip before, there was no way he could now, when he was almost passing out. “Drink it, or you will die.” Gabriel said. Adrien kept his mouth closed. Whatever was going on, he knew that there was no way he could drink what was in that cup. His father sighed, looking slightly annoyed. As though Adrien’s refusal to take part in this bizarre ritual was merely a small annoyance. “Adrien, I already told you. You have no choice in the matter. I wish you wouldn’t make things so difficult.” He stood up and walked back to his desk, bringing the cup with him. “Nathalie,” Adrien heard him say into the phone. “Please come up to my study. I need your assistance.”

                Adrien could feel the warm stickiness of his own blood seeping into his shirt. He wanted to put a hand over the wound in his neck, to make it stop bleeding, but he still couldn’t really move. After a moment, the door opened. He couldn’t see, but he assumed it was Nathalie.

                “… What did you need, Mr. Agreste?” She asked. She sounded fairly calm. She must have been aware of what Adrien’s father was doing. Great. So everyone had lost their minds, not just his father. That was wonderful.

                “Adrien is being difficult. He refuses to take my blood.” Gabriel replied. “Help me get him to drink it, before he dies.”

                Nathalie said nothing, but she must have nodded or something, because Gabriel moved towards Adrien with the glass again. Adrien felt himself being lifted up.

                “My apologies, Adrien.” Nathalie said quietly. Adrien didn’t reply. She lifted his head and forced his mouth open. Gabriel knelt by him again, and poured a small amount of the blood from the glass into Adrien’s open mouth. Nathalie quickly closed him mouth and put a hand over his nose and mouth, so he couldn’t breath. He had no choice but to swallow the foul liquid. They repeated this, over and over, until the glass was empty.

                “Thank you, Nathalie.” Gabriel said standing up. The door opened and closed, an Adrien assumed Nathalie had left. “Sleep now, Adrien.” His father said to him. “We will discuss this further when you awaken.”

                Adrien didn’t really have a choice. He wasn’t sure if it was the blood he had lost or the blood they had forced him to take, but he felt his eyelids growing heavy. Everything in the room was fading. Maybe this was all a dream, and when he woke up, everything would be back to normal. Clinging to that thought, he slipped into oblivion.

 


	2. La Terreur

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry for the delay in this chapter! I suffered a wrist injury that left me unable to write for a couple months, and then I took a while to get back in my stride! Thank you for your patience!

**I**

                Adrien awoke slowly. At first, he was not entirely sure he was awake at all. Everything was groggy, and his whole body hurt. He couldn’t even make himself open his eyes. Why was he so sore? He tried to remember what had happened, but it was all a blur. The last thing he could clearly remember was going to his father’s study for dinner. Everything after that was a confusing haze. Trying to think about it made his head hurt. Somewhere in the distance he heard a voice calling his name, but he ignored it. Whatever they wanted, it couldn’t be all that important. He slipped back into unconsciousness.

                The next time he woke up, it was more solid. He opened his eyes, only to find it barely made a difference. His room was so dark he could barely make out any details. He slowly sat up, every joint in his body protesting.

                “You should not move too much just yet, Adrien.” His father’s voice came from somewhere in the room. Adrien jerked back, surprised. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could make out his father sitting in a chair off to his right. He also realised he was not in his own room.  “Stay in bed.” Gabriel cautioned him. He had not been planning on getting up. He felt like her had been hit by a truck – and more than one akumatized villain had thrown trucks at him, so he was uncomfortably familiar with the sensation.

                “What…. Happened?” He asked. His mouth was dry. He was so thirsty. He looked around, but there was no water near him. He could see the room clearly now. It was not one he recognized.

                His father was silent for a long time, and Adrien was starting to wonder if he had heard him at all. Finally, he stood, and walked next to the bed Adrien was in. “Do you not remember?”

                “No… Not really.” Adrien said.

                Gabriel stood over him, a frown of mild concern on his face. “I’m certain it will come back to you in time.” He said. “For now, you need to focus on resting. I will leave you.”

                “Ah, before you leave,” Adrien said. “Can you have someone bring me some water? I’m very thirsty.”

                Gabriel paused at the door, and for just a moment Adrien thought he saw him smirk. But then he was back to his blank face, and he nodded once before exiting.

                Adrien leaned back into his pillows – or, whoever’s pillows. He still had no idea where he was. The room had no windows, which made it even weirder. What kind of bedroom had no windows? He looked at the bedside table, but his phone wasn’t there, and he didn’t feel it in his pocket either. So he had no way of knowing what time it even was.

                “Guess I won’t be going to school…” He muttered to himself. He frowned. Hadn’t his father said something about him having to miss school? These missing memories were bothering him. What was even more annoying what that he was certain his father knew, yet he wasn’t saying anything.

                “Ugh, finally he leaves.” Plagg popped out from where he had been hiding, behind the bedside table. “He has been sitting by your bed for hours.”

                That surprised Adrien. Certainly his father had better things to do than wait around like that, and he had left immediately after Adrien had woken up. But, more importantly, maybe Plagg knew what had happened.

                “Hey, Plagg?” He said. “What happened to me? Was it one of Hawkmoth’s villains? Is Ladybug ok?”

                There was a very long silence before Plagg responded. “You don’t remember?”

                “Didn’t I say that to my father already?” He said, annoyed. What was going on with everyone?

                “You did.” Plagg said slowly. “I thought maybe you were lying to him.”

                “What? Why would I lie about that?” Adrien scowled. He was used to Plagg being unhelpful, true, but usually he wasn’t purposefully cryptic. “Just tell me what happened.”

                “Listen, I was hiding in your shirt like usual.” Plagg said, sounding somewhat defensive. “I couldn’t really do anything.”

                “So… This didn’t happen to me as Chat Noir?” Adrien asked, somewhat surprised. He figured if he was going to sustain an injury, it would be as his superhero alter ego. Adrien Agreste didn’t really do much that would cause him to hurt himself.

                “No,” Plagg said, sounding uncomfortable. “Like I said, I was in your shirt the whole time. I didn’t see what happened, but to me it seemed like,” He hesitated, then sighed. “It sounded like your father attacked you.”

                “My… What?” Adrien was taken aback. Plagg had to be joking. But even as he dismissed the thought as the Kwami’s poor attempt at humour, something in the back of his mind nagged at him. “Was he akumatized? He seems fine now. Did Ladybug save me?”

                “No one saved you,” Plagg said. “He bandaged you up himself, and brought you here.”

                “Bandaged me…?” For the first time Adrien noticed the feel of the bandage on his neck. He touched it gingerly, and winced. Whatever wound it covered was still sore.

                “You bled a lot,” Plagg said, sounding like he was complaining. “It soaked through your shirt and some even got on me.”

                “How traumatic for you.” Adrien said. Plagg said something in response, but Adrien wasn’t listening. He was trying to remember what had happened when he had gone into his father’s study for dinner. He remembered his father talking about his mother, and something about a cure… Something about Adrien not having a choice… A memory almost surfaced, but then it was gone. He ran a hand through his hair, annoyed. Was this how all the Akumatized people felt afterwards? Just a hole in their memory where they knew something bad had happened? That sucked.

                A knock at the door. “Come in.” Adrien called, hoping it was someone finally bringing him some water.

 

**II**

                Nino buzzed the intercom on the gate to Adrien’s mansion. He always felt at least a little intimidated coming over here. Who even needed a house this big? It was just Adrien and his dad living here.

                “Yes?” Nathalie’s voice came out from the speaker.

                “Uh, it’s Nino?” He replied. “Adrien texted me to bring him the notes from today’s class, so…” He trailed off.

                Nathalie paused. “One moment please.” The system clocked off. Nino stood awkwardly, wondering what that was about. Maybe Adrien had forgotten to warn them that Nino was coming over, and they needed to make sure that he wasn’t secretly some cat burglar or something. Eventually, the intercom buzzed back to life. “You may enter.”

                He heard a click, and the unnecessarily opulent gates swung open to allow him to pass. Rolling his eyes, he made his way up the path. The sun was already low in the sky. His mother would be annoyed if he didn’t make it home by nightfall.

                Nathalie was at the door to greet him, looking as cheerful and upbeat as she always did. “Follow me.” She said in a monotone voice.

                “That’s ok, I know where his room is,” Nino replied. He wondered if she wanted to escort him around the house because she feared he would steal something. He had never felt particularly welcome here. 

                “Adrien is currently recovering in a different part of the estate,” Nathalie said. The word ‘recovering’ struck Nino as sounding pretty serious. Maybe the food poisoning was worse than Adrien had let on in the text. “I will lead you there.”

                “Well, alright.” Nino shrugged. It seemed a little weird that Adrien wouldn’t be in his own bedroom. There was nothing he could have needed that that massive room didn’t have.

                Nathalie led him up to a part of the house that Nino had never been to – though, admittedly, he had seen very little of it overall. From the outside, it was imposing, and on the inside, it was confusing, even with the open concept design. Nathalie led him down a set of stairs and stopped in front of a door. She knocked, and a faint reply came from beyond. Just as he was considering the strangeness of Adrien staying in the basement of his house, Nathalie pulled out a key ring and unlocked the door.

                “He is inside.” 

                Before Nino had time to question why the door had been locked, Nathalie had ushered him into the room and shut it behind him.

                “Nino? What are you doing here?” Adrien’s voice came from the other end of the room. It was too dark for Nino to see anything.

                “What are you talking about?” Nino replied, groping along the wall for a light switch. “You asked me to come to bring your homework, right? Oh, there it is!” He flicked the switch, and a dim light flickered to life. A cry of pain drew his attention back to Adrien, who had pulled a blanket over his head. “Hey, you ok bro?”

                “It’s just really bright.” His voice was muffled by the comforter. “I wasn’t expecting it.”

                “Oh… Whoops. Should have warned you, I guess.” Nino laughed. “Anyway, how have you been? I’ve got the homework and notes that you asked for. Don’t know why you bothered, though. You know I always take the worst notes. You should have texted Alya instead, or…” He trailed off. Adrien had poked out of the blanket and was squinting at him in confusion. He looked awful. Nino made a mental note to find out where Adrien had eaten that had done this to him and never ever eat there.

                “What do you mean, that I asked for?” Adrien asked slowly.

                “You texted me? Remember?” Nino laughed again, nervously this time. “You must be really sick, man.”

                “Yeah…” Adrien muttered.

                “Well, hey,” Nino approached his best friend, and patted his shoulder through the comforter. “Don’t feel obligated to do any of this homework, yeah? I’ll just let you copy mine later. You clearly need to rest.” He tried to give Adrien a comforting smile, but it didn’t quite work. Something about the way Adrien was staring at him was really freaking him out. “I’ll just… leave this here, and let you go back to recovering.” He placed the notebook on the bedside table, and moved to turn away.

                “Wait.” Adrien said, grabbing Nino’s arm. His grip was alarmingly strong for someone suffering from severe gastro-intestinal distress. He was still staring at Nino in that wide-eyed, disconcerting manner.

                “What is it?” Nino asked. Was it his imagination, or were Adrien’s eyes a different colour than usual. Probably just a trick of the light.

                Adrien sat up slowly in his bed, letting the comforter fall away. For the first time, Nino saw the thick bandage on his neck. What on earth was that from. “You…” Adrien licked his lips. “You smell…”

                “Ok, rude.” Nino said, trying to back away. Unfortunately, Adrien’s grip on his arm was too strong for him to break. “Listen, man, I get that you’re sick, but you’re majorly creeping me out.”

                Adrien stared at him in silence for a few more seconds, and then suddenly leapt out of the bed onto Nino. Alarmed, Nino fell backwards, smashing his head on a dresser. The last thing he felt was a sharp pain in his neck.


	3. La Renaissance

**I**

                Seen from the outside, the scene truly looked like something from a horror movie. In the corner of the room, Adrien was hunched over Nino’s unconscious form. He had sunk his teeth into his friend’s neck to release the sweet smelling liquid he so desperately needed. Somehow, he had had a very easy time doing that. He had absolutely no concept of how long they had been like this. As Nino’s blood filled his mouth and quenched his thirst, Adrien was dimly aware that this was absolutely not something he should be doing. Unfortunately, the relatively small voice of reason was finding it very difficult to compete with the overwhelming need he felt to _feed_. With each swallow he was feeling more alive, and stronger, too. Still, the new strength he felt was probably nowhere near the level of Chat Noir’s strength.

                _Chat Noir_. He jerked his head back suddenly, releasing Nino. What was he doing? He was Chat Noir. A hero! Heroes didn’t do… Whatever the hell it was he was doing. He wiped his mouth off on the back of his hand, revolted. Yet even as he thought this, he caught sight of the wound on Nino’s neck, and felt an almost irresistible pull to continue where he had left off. All he had to do was stop thinking. It felt right even if he knew it wasn’t. He just had to let his new, frightening instincts take control…

                “No way,” He said aloud, gritting his teeth. “Not gonna happen.” The smell of the blood was enough to drive him mad. He grabbed the corner of the comforter and held it over his mouth and nose, trying to block it out. It helped, sort of.

                “Oh?” Plagg’s voice came from the ceiling. He appeared to have been hiding on one of the blades of the ceiling fan. “Are you still Adrien? I thought you were a monster now.”

                “Plagg! What is going on?” Even as he turned his attention to the Kwami, he was acutely aware of the smell of blood coming from Nino. He could still taste it on his tongue, warm and metallic. It should have repulsed him, but it didn’t. Indeed, he felt as though he had never in his life tasted anything so wonderful. He pressed the comforter harder against his face. It struck him that the restricted airflow caused by the blanket wasn’t really bothering him. He filed that away under things to worry about later.

                “How should I know.” Plagg replied. “You attacked your friend, that’s all I saw. I tried to talk to you, but you swatted me away, so I came to hide up here.” Plagg sounded more concerned over Adrien having tried to hit him than the attempted murder.

                “Ah… Sorry,” Adrien didn’t remember that happening at all. But he didn’t have time to sort through his memories. Nino was still alive. Alive and bleeding out. He didn’t know ho much blood he had lost already. How much blood was sitting in Adrien’s stomach right now? He had to help him, but he wasn’t sure it would be safe to get any closer. His brain felt fuzzy, and he doubted he could control himself. “What should I do?”

                “I don’t know,” Plagg shrugged. “Not what you were doing before, at least.”

                “No kidding…” He muttered. He had to get Nino to the hospital that’s what he had to do. It wasn’t too far from his house, especially if he went as Chat Noir. The question was, would Chat Noir feel the same desire to rip out Nino’s throat that was threatening to overcome Adrien? He hoped not. Chat Noir was a hero. He was strong and clever. Chat Noir could do and be everything Adrien couldn’t. He could only pray that he could do this as well. If Chat Noir had the same monstrous urges as Adrien had developed, then he shuddered to think of what sort of terror he was unleashing on Paris. But he had to do something.

                “Plagg?”

                “Yeah?”

                He took a deep breath. “Claws out!”

**II**

                Nathalie stood outside the door to Gabriel Agreste’s office, trembling. She had failed. She had failed so utterly and completely that she was sure her life was forfeit. She had let Adrien escape.

                “Enter.” Her master’s voice called from within. Her hands were shaking so much she was surprised she succeeding in opening the door. She was certain that her left wrist had been broken. Chat Noir (Adrien?) had pushed past her after bursting through the door carrying Nino, and she had fallen on it at a strange angle. It throbbed painfully if she tried to move it, so she did her best to hold it still. Gabriel was sitting at his desk. Adrien’s blood had been cleaned off the floor already. She wondered which unfortunate maid had been given that task. He gave her an expectant look, but said nothing. He was as difficult to read as always. An enigmatic creature that filled her with both fear and admiration every time she was in his presence.  Well, even those who didn’t know his secret seemed to feel this. He gave off an unimaginably, inhumanly cold aura.

                “I… I apologize, sir, but there has been a, ah…. A complication. With Adrien.” She swallowed. Her mouth was so dry.

                “I am aware,” Gabriel said, gesturing the computer. Nathalie could not see the screen from where she was standing. But she assumed that he had CCTV footage of the interior of the mansion. “It is not a problem.”

                “It’s… It’s not?” Nathalie stared at him, unable to comprehend what she was hearing. Gabriel treasured his son above all else in this world. Adrien was truly his most prized possession. How could his escape not be a problem?

                “I had taken the possibility of his escape into account once he had refused by blood. Those who do not turn willingly often react negatively.” He paused, staring thoughtfully at the screen in front of him. “Though I will admit, the survival of his friend is a complication I had not foreseen. I have never heard of a newly created vampire resisting the call of fresh blood. This is troubling.”

                Since Gabriel did not mention that Adrien had clearly transformed into Chat Noir before his escape, Nathalie assumed that he did not find this to be particularly noteworthy. She elected to keep her surprise at this revelation to herself, instead voicing another concern. “Adrien doesn’t have the spells he needs to survive in the sun. How will he –“

                “My son is a smart boy, Nathalie.” Gabriel interrupted. “He will not allow something as trivial as the sun to kill him, of this I am sure. And once he realises that there is no escaping what he has become, he will return.”

                “But how can you be certain?” Nathalie asked, unable to stop herself.

                “Because he is my son.” Gabriel’s voice took on a dangerous tone, one that told her that she was not safe to question him further. “Now, I have a job for you.”

                “Yes?”

                “I need you to find out where Adrien took his friend, Nino. Likely it will be the nearby hospital.” Gabriel fixed his unnerving gaze on her, and she supressed a shiver. “If Nino awakens and says what happened to him, it would be annoying for us. Ensure that he does not survive his injuries. I leave the method up to you.”

                “… You want me to kill him?”

                “Is that a problem?”

                “… No.”

                “Then you are dismissed. Complete your task by morning.”

                “Of course.” She turned around and exited his office. She briefly considered getting some form of first aid for her wrist, but that could wait. She had more important matters to attend to.

                Nathalie had never killed anyone before. She had done a great many unsavoury things on her master’s orders, but murder was not one of them. However, if she wished for immortality, she had to do what Gabriel said. There was nothing left for her in her human life. Ever since she was a little girl, she had known she was born to be something more. A chance encounter with Gabriel Agreste had finally shown her what that more was.

                Ten years. That was what she had promised him. Ten years of loyal service to Gabriel and his son, and in return Gabriel would turn her. Her fifth year had just passed. She was already halfway there. If she refused even one of Gabriel’s orders, all that she had done up to that point would be for nothing. What was the life of one boy, really? Steeling her nerves, she dialed the number to the hospital nearest to the Agreste mansion.

**III**

                Adrien paced back and forth in an alley near the hospital, unsure of what to do next. He had reverted back to Adrien because, try as he might, he had been unable to pry the door open to that stupid basement room he’d been locked in. Cataclysm had been the only way out. Thankfully he had made it to the hospital in time, but it had been a close call. He had turned back to Adrien not 30 seconds after he had run from the hospital. He hadn’t had time to explain anything to the girl behind the counter, but even if he had, what would he have said? ‘ _Hey, so I accidentally tried to rip my friend Nino’s throat out, would you guys mind patching him up? Thanks!_ ’? That obviously wouldn’t have worked. And he couldn’t have people in Paris seeing Chat Noir as a villain.

                But mow what was he supposed to do? He couldn’t turn back into Chat Noir until he found some stinking cheese for Plagg, and it was past sundown. None of the shops were open at this hour, and at any rate he had no cash on him. In fact, he was in his pajamas. To make matters worse, there were even some dried splashes of blood on his pajama top. It was Nino’s. Thankfully, since it had dried, the smell didn’t have the same dizzying effect on him as it had when it was fresh. Still, he was acutely aware of its presence. How annoying.

                Plagg was, as usual, being decidedly unhelpful. He was hiding in the chest pocket of Adrien’s pajama shirt, pretending to sleep. Of course, he would instantly wake up if Adrien had any camembert for him. Just thinking of that foul stuff, he imagined he could smell it.

                Or… Actually… Could he smell it? Trying to ignore the scent of blood (which was almost impossible), he managed to pick up the slightest hint of the pungent smell of Plagg’s favourite cheese. Along with it was the scent of red wine and espresso. He hesitated for a moment, and then tore off in the direction the smells were coming from.

                He reached his destination fairly quickly, without even breaking a sweat despite having sprinted the whole way. It was a posh little restaurant with an outdoor seating area. He stayed in the shadows, edging closer. Sure enough, at a table near the fence, someone had a cheese platter. He felt Plagg stir in his pocket. No doubt the Kwami had sensed his favourite food.

                He had found the camembert… The question was, how to get it? He highly doubted the diners would just happily give it to him. He paused, considering his newly increased speed and stamina. He was against stealing on principle, obviously, but if the circumstances called for it… And anyway, he had met the couple at the table once before. They were actually richer than his father, so they could certainly afford to pay for another after dinner cheese platter.

                He took a deep breath, to mentally prepare himself. Beneath the scent of the cheese, wine, espresso, and various expensive and fancy dishes, he could smell the pulsing blood of the dinner guests. He had to be quick. He didn’t want the weird instincts his father had given him to take over again.

                The fence was not even chest height, thankfully. He doubted even with his new abilities he would have been able to jump a proper fence. He creeped as close as he could to the table with the cheese platter. It was actually on a cheeseboard, naturally, so he would have to be careful he didn’t drop it all when he tried to run. Perhaps fate was deciding to give him a break that night, for just as that thought crossed his mind, he noticed a plastic bag lying in the gutter near his feet. He picked it up. It wasn’t the cleanest thing in the world, and no doubt the chefs would cry to see good cheese so horribly abused, but he doubted Plagg would mind one bit.

                Once he had snuck to the threshold of the light spilling from the patio, he had to move fast. He sprinted forward and grabbed the cheeseboard, and dropped it into the old plastic bag in one fluid motion. He was off and running before the couple at the table even registered what was happening. As he fled, he heard the husband start to yell for security, but more concerning, he heard the wife say, “Wasn’t that Mr. Agreste’s son?”.

**IV**

                Léa was still in shock. Usually almost nothing happened when she worked the evening shift at the hospital. Tonight, however, who but Chat Noir himself had burst through the front door? She had been so shocked she hadn’t even noticed that he was holding a severely injured kid. He hadn’t stayed long. Once he saw the kid was safely being taken to intensive care, he ran out without another word. He hadn’t even explained what had happened. Well, superheroes had a right to be mysterious, she supposed.

                The second he was gone she had pulled out her phone and texted everyone. It was worth the risk of her supervisor seeing. She felt she was within her rights in this case to use her phone while working.

                The phone rang. She answered it with her usual scripted greeting, annoyed at having her texting interrupted.

                “Hello… I was just wondering if perhaps Chat Noir had stopped in your hospital this evening?” A woman’s voice on the other end of the line asked.

                “Uhmm…” Léa paused. “Why do you ask?”

                “Well, it’s just that, I saw him earlier, and I know he had with him a young boy, who I saw was grievously injured… I was worried about the boy, and I just wanted to make sure he made it to a hospital.”

                “Oh…” Léa was still suspicious. You had to be so careful not to tell anyone any personal information. Léa’s friend had actually been fired for that, which was scary. But she guessed this wouldn’t hurt. “Yeah, a young man was dropped off here by Chat Noir. But unfortunately I can’t give you anymore information.”

                “Oh that’s quite alright.” The woman replied. “I’m so relieved to hear this. Thank you for telling me. A weight has been lifted from me.” Then she hung up, without saying anything more.

                Léa found it a little odd, but shrugged, and went back to texting, completely unaware of the potential consequences of what she had said, and to whom she had said it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again I have to apologize for the delay!! I'd like to promise it won't happen again, but my life is somewhat hectic lately... I hope you will forgive me! ^^; But I cant believe my little fic is getting a bit popular! I have never had so many views and kudos and such on anything I wrote before! I'm happy~ I really appreciate everyone who has commented! See you in chapter 4 <3


	4. La Nuit Éternelle

**I**

                It was nearly midnight. Adrien had evaded the security from the restaurant with ease, naturally (or, more accurately, supernaturally). He was sitting on a bench at a park near his school. He had come here automatically. He had a feeling he would be enjoying his new powers a lot more if he wasn’t already so used to being Chat Noir. Whatever he was now, he was just slightly slower, weaker, and clumsier than his superhero alter ego. It was kind of a let down. Also, these powers came with some hideous side effects.

                He knew exactly what he was, of course. He wasn’t stupid. But it wasn’t exactly a pleasant thought, so he decided that, at least for the moment, he would avoid the V word. He felt like if he even thought it, it would make it permanent. Perhaps it was because he had some experience with the strange and unexplainable, but he found he was handling this all fairly well. Now that he knew Nino was safe in the hospital, and Plagg was ready to transform him if the need arose, he felt very calm.

                Or maybe he was just in denial. That seemed more likely, in all honesty. Part of him wanted to run back home and demand an explanation from his father. But he knew that if he went back, there was a good chance that he would not succeed in escaping again. He had been forced to reveal himself as Chat Noir to get out, so the next time around they would be prepared. What a pain…

                The moon was waning. In a few nights, it would be the new moon. Even with the light pollution from a city the size of Paris, he could see some of the stars above him. It was a warm and peaceful evening. Probably one of the last warm evenings of the year. October would be there soon.

                It occurred to Adrien that if he really was a you-know-what, that would have more complications than just the nigh uncontrollable urge to feed on the blood of those around him. He had hoped that, as Chat Noir, the urge would have gone away. It hadn’t. Carrying Nino to the hospital had taken all of his willpower. Truly, he hadn’t thought he would make it. Luckily, Chat Noir was stronger than him, and he found it easier to resist.

                “So I guess… I just live the rest of my life as Chat Noir.” He said to the stars. The stars didn’t answer. Even before this evening, he had had fantasies about that. Not the stars talking to him, but being able to live as Chat Noir forever. He had always liked Chat Noir better than he liked Adrien, and now Adrien was a monster on top of everything else.

                He needed to talk to Ladybug, that’s what he needed to do. But he had no idea how to reach her. He wished he had his phone. Alya from his class likely knew how to contact Ladybug, but he had no idea where she lived. He realised now that his father or Nathalie had no doubt stolen his phone and used it to lure Nino into the house in the first place. He couldn’t think about that too much, or he would get too angry with them to deal the with the situation at hand. He had to focus. If he couldn’t text Alya, did he know someone who could? He knew the answer immediately.

                Marinette.

**II**

                Marinette had been sound asleep, dreaming. It was one of those dreams that makes very little sense and just bores people when you try to explain it, but suffice to say it involved cake, Adrien Agreste, and an impromptu trip to New York City (all of which were lovely on their own, but the way they combined in the dream actually led to quite a stressful situation). At first she thought that the tapping that had woken her was a part of her dream. However, the sound persisted even after she had sat up in her bed. She peeked off her loft in the direction it was coming from, and froze in shock.

                Chat Noir was sitting at her window. Evidently, he had been tapping it for some time. When he saw her peek her head down, he gave her his Cheshire Cat grin, but something seemed… off. She frowned, confused. Why would Chat Noir be coming to see her? She had spoken to him as Marinette maybe once or twice. She checked her phone. It was nearly one in the morning. This had better be important.

                “Good evening, Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng,” Chat Noir said when she reached the window and opened it. He sounded the same as ever, but he still looked wrong somehow. “I was wondering if you could contact your friend Alya for me?”

                “Uhm… Chat Noir… Hello.” She had to be careful not to act too familiar with him. She couldn’t tip him off that she knew him as well as she did. Secret identities were meant to remain a secret, after all. “Why do you want to talk to Alya? And couldn’t you just go knock on her window instead of mine?”

                “Well, I would, but I have no idea where she lives.” He shrugged, still grinning. “Anyway, could you contact her? I need to speak with Ladybug, and she’s the only person I know of who might know how to reach her.”

                “You need to speak to Ladybug?” Marinette said, surprised. If that was the case, it was a good thing he came to her instead of Alya. But at this hour? What could be so urgent? “Is there a villain attacking Paris?”

                “No,” Chat shook his head. “I just need to talk to her.”

                “And it can’t wait until morning?”

                “I have a sneaking suspicion that it really, really can’t.”

                Marinette had no idea what he meant by that, but she nodded. “Alright. I can actually get in contact with her for you, if it’s that important.”

                “You can?” He looked surprised.

                “Well, Alya and I are pretty close, so I have learned a lot about Ladybug through her,” She explained (lied). “So I should be able to contact Ladybug without having to bather Alya at all.”

                “That’s great!” Chat Noir exclaimed. “Can you tell her to meet me as soon as she can?”

                “Where?”

                Chat Noir paused. “How about… uhmm….” His voice trailed away. He was staring at something behind her in her room. His expression went slack, as though he couldn’t quite comprehend what he was seeing. In his eyes she thought she saw fear – no. Terror.

                “Is… Is something wrong?” Marinette asked, concerned. Making such an expression, she was actually scared to turn around and see what he saw.

                He shook his head, but not as though he was saying no. More like he was trying to shake an idea out of his head. Really, he looked like a cat who had gotten water dripped on his head. “No, sorry! I just… thought I saw something.” He flashed her another grin, but it seemed less confident than normal. “Look, just tell Ladybug to meet me where we first met. She’ll know what I mean. I’ll be waiting for her. Tell her to hurry. Please.” There was a hint of desperation in his voice.

                “Sure… Be safe, ok?” Marinette didn’t know what had prompted her to say that. Something about how he was acting was worrying her. She didn’t know what was going on, but she knew deep in her soul that there was something very wrong.

                He laughed, gave her a mock bow, and jumped off into the night.

                Once he was out of sight, Marinette turned around to see what had caused him to look so terrified. But there really was nothing there. The only thing she could see if she looked where he had been looking was her mirror.

**III**

                As Chat Noir headed for the arena where he had first met Ladybug, the image he had seen in Marinette’s room refused to leave his mind. He had perfect night vision, of course, so there was no way he had been mistaken. In the mirror behind Marinette, he could see her perfectly as she had leaned out to talk to him. But the place where his reflection should have been, there had simply been… nothing. Such a brutal reminder of what he had become had left him speechless. It also left him with even more concerns. If he really was what he suspected, then he needed to know which stories were true and which were not. It was in his best interest for the legends to be nothing more than that. But if the mirror thing was true…

                He knew he had seen his father’s reflection. Indeed, there were many large mirrors in his house, and if his father didn’t have a reflection, there was simply no way he would have decorated the way he did. What that meant was that Gabriel had found a way around certain weaknesses that came with this… Condition. Adrien had been basing what he believed he could and could not do on what he had seen his father do. Gabriel, of course, had no issues with the sun. Adrien had been hoping the same would be true for himself. However, if his father had simply used some sort of charm or ring or whatever people used in movies, then Adrien was screwed. He didn’t really feel like going up in a puff of smoke.

                He reached the arena. He could get in by climbing up over the top, so the fact that it was closed didn’t have any impact whatsoever. A less good and honest person may have thought to use the abilities of Chat Noir for unsavoury purposes. Then again, he doubted Master Fu would have given a Miraculous to someone with that sort of personality.

                How much should he tell Ladybug? He trusted her. He trusted her with his life. The only reason he had kept his true identity a secret from her was because she seemed to prefer it that way. Personally, he thought that this all would be much easier if they knew who each other were from the start. Or maybe his crush on her was making him think that. He couldn’t exactly take her on a date in her superhero form. Not that that was relevant at all at this moment. Still, even though he trusted her, he wasn’t sure he should tell her everything. How would he be able to handle it if she looked at him as if he were a monster? He had almost killed an innocent person!

                He spotted her entering the arena, using the same route he had used. He jumped up and waved her over. “Ladybug!” He called, remembering that she didn’t have night vision.  

                “Chat Noir, what’s up?” She said as she landed next to him. She gave him a concerned look. “Marinette seemed pretty worried about you. Is something wrong?”

                “Yeah, you could say that…” He laughed awkwardly. When she stood this close to him, he was painfully aware of the scent of her blood. He wasn’t thirsty yet, but even so, it was difficult to focus. “Uhm, well, the thing is… I’m going to have to go… underground for a bit.”

                “Like, literally?” She asked him, looking confused

                 Actually, he hadn’t meant literally at all, but now that she mentioned it, that seemed like a good idea. What better place to hide from the sun than in the subways? He would just have to be careful not to get hit by a train. Or did he even need to hide from the sun? “Yeah, probably literally.”

                “Probably? Do you not know what you’re doing?”

                “Not really… Kinda hoped you would help me figure it out, actually.”

                “Well, I’ll do my best, but you have to tell me what’s going on first.” The look she was giving him was making him somewhat uncomfortable. It was as though she was trying to remember something, or figure something out. At any rate, it isn’t the expression you want your one true love to have when they look at you.

                 “The situation is, uh…” How much should he tell her? “I don’t think that Hawkmoth’s akumas are the only things we have to watch out for in Paris right now.”

                 “What do you mean?”

                 “Well, uh…” This was so stupid, she was going to think he was so stupid. “How much do you know about vampires?”

                  “Vampires?” She looked taken aback. “I mean, I’ve seen some movies I guess? Are you saying there are vampires in Paris?”

                  “Seems that way.”

                   She looked sceptical, but she hadn’t laughed in his face at any rate. “Are you sure it isn’t an akuma posing as a vampire? I could definitely see that happening.”

                  “Yeah I’m pretty sure… I had a, uh, a run in with one of them earlier. He was a no akuma.” He paused, and then decided to be cautious, at least for now. “He attacked me, but I managed to escape. It was a close call though.”

                  “Oh my god… Are you ok?” Ladybug asked.

                   “I am, yeah,” He lied. “But the vampire also attacked another kid. I think his name was Nino. I had to take him to the hospital.”

                   “Oh no… Will he be ok?”

                   “Yeah, he should be.”

                    “So, wait… Why do you need to go underground?” She asked.

                    He realised that his half story didn’t exactly add up. “W-well, you see… The vampire saw who I really was… Since I had to turn into Chat Noir to escape.” This was actually true. “So I can’t really be out and about anymore. It isn’t safe.”

                     Ladybug said nothing, but he could tell from her face that she believed him. Well, he wasn’t really lying. He just failed to mention that now he was a vampire, too. “What can I do to help you?” She asked finally.

                     “I… I don’t really know.” He laughed again. It was a reflex. Everything was kind of terrible, so he laughed at it. “I just had to talk to someone, you know?”

                     “Yeah,” She smiled at him.

                     “Listen, I know you didn’t want us to reveal our identities at this point… But I think it’s kind of inevitable that you’re going to find out, and I can’t explain the whole situation without telling you… So… tomorrow, ok? The news will probably make it pretty obvious by then anyway, but maybe my father will want to keep it quiet.”

                     “Your father?” She asked, sounding confused.

                     “Yeah, he… He was he vampire. So you can see why I have problems.” He gave her a smile, but his heart wasn’t in it. “Anyway, I have to go find somewhere to lay low for tomorrow. But I’ll meet you again tomorrow.”

                     “Here?” She asked.

                     “No, I don’t think we should meet in the same place more than once.” He said. “How about on the roof of the tv broadcasting centre? Where we fought Stormy Weather? At midnight.”

                     “… Yeah, of course. I’ll see you then.”

                     “Ladybug?”

                     “Yeah?”

                     “Thank you. For coming to talk to me. I know it’s late.”

                     “… No problem.”

**IV**

                     “I’m sorry, Mr. Lahiffe…” Nurse Maeva said gently. “Sometimes there is just nothing we can do.”

                     “But he was recovering!” The boy’s father wailed. “You said he would be fine!”

                     Maeva had been tasked with the unpleasant duty of informing Nino Lahiffe’s father that his son, who they had thought was in stable condition, had suddenly passed away. What was worse, the death seemed to be due to an error with the equipment in the room! But she wouldn’t tell him that. That could be left to someone higher on the payroll than her – no doubt this would lead to a hefty lawsuit. She wasn’t aware of the details. Just that she was to give no real information to anyone until people actually knew what had happened. This was going to be a long night.

                     She was too busy focusing on the distressed man in front of her to notice that an unknown woman was slipping out a stairwell behind her.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I was actually quite inspired! So I hope you enjoyed chapter 4, much earlier than expected! <3


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